If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away
by Little-Angry-Kitten
Summary: Losing them wouldn't be so hard to take if heaven wasn't so far away. AH


**A/N: This came up while listening to country music. I learned my lesson though, do not listen to country music it can make you cry your heart out. That's what this song did to me anyway. So it's a first for me in this fandom a RosexDimitri O/S and it's not a lemon. I hope you will like it the same. A big thank you to the lovely lady that is my beta CrazySue05.**

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_If heaven wasn't so far away  
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day  
Introduce them to their grandpa  
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks  
I'd find my long lost cousin John  
The one we left back in Vietnam  
Show him a picture of his daughter now  
She's a doctor and he'd be proud  
Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days  
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch 'em wave  
Yeah, and losing them wouldn't be so hard to take  
If heaven wasn't so far away_

_-Justin Moore_

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The light blinded him as he opened his eyes. Taking a look around Dimitri could see that he was back in his old room in Montana. The last thing he remembered was being in the battlefield trying to carry Eddie away from the gunshots and the bombs. They had fallen into a trap while trying to save a small village from a raid and Eddie had been shot. It was only a small wound on his right leg but Dimitri had to get him out of there one way or another. The greatest lesson the army taught him was to never leave a fellow soldier behind. They were a family and they always stuck together, even in death.

He remembered getting Eddie into a safe place but after that everything went blank. Throwing the covers of off him Dimitri got up smiling as childhood memories came rushing back to him. Playing tag with Ivan when they were six, the night he took Roza to prom, the day he had made Roza his wife, his family saying goodbye, crying as he left for the war. Bittersweet memories all over the house. He descended down the stairs half expecting to find his mother cooking breakfast but there was no one there.

"Momma?" He called but no answer came. Only the sound of his voice echoing in the empty house. "Roza?" He tried again but still nothing. Where was everyone? He was back home and no one was here to welcome him. Sadness washed over him but soon was gone as he saw something moving in the back yard. He pushed the door open only to be greeted with the sight of his best friend playing fetch with their long lost dog. Their fathers had gotten them both a dog –in hope that the two seven year olds would share the responsibilities- a few weeks before they both were killed while on an army mission. Dimitri and Ivan were crushed by the news of losing their fathers at once. Cookie –they had made the mistake to let Dimitri's sisters name the cute Labrador- was the only thing they had left from them.

"Good Morning sunshine!" Ivan's teasing voice brought him out of his thoughts. Dimitri turned to look at his smirking best friend a smile pulling at his own lips. "I've been waiting for to wake up for ages." Cookie came back running and jumping happily around him excited to see her owner again. Dimitri bent down and scratched her behind the ears.

"Where are we?" Dimitri asked looking around, taking in the beauty that was his mother's garden. Oh how many times he had stolen kisses from Roza in that very garden when they thought no one was looking. It saddened him that the garden no longer existed. His mother had to sell their family home and move in with him and Roza after his grandma died.

"Somewhere in between heaven and earth." Ivan answered and Dimitri raised an eyebrow asking for an explanation silently. "You were hurt while getting Eddie to a safe place. Someone shot you in the back. It did quite the damage to you but you are going to live." Ivan shrugged.

"Am I dead?" Dimitri blurted out earning a booming laugh from Ivan.

"No you are not." Ivan shook his head still laughing. "You are just 'visiting'." He used air quotes at the word visit. Still Dimitri was getting kind of impatient with all the cryptic talk.

"So what am I?" Dimitri asked as he threw the ball away so Cookie could chase after it.

"Right now your body on earth is in a coma but your soul still has the will to live. That's why you are here, stuck in-between." Ivan explained as Cookie brought back her ball and left it in front of him. "I fancy a walk." Ivan murmured to himself. Dimitri noticed that his friend was getting a little crazy up here. "Wanna take a walk?" Ivan asked him a peaceful smile setting on his lips. "You know, like the ones you and Rose used to take." Ivan teased him and Dimitri blushed at the thought of what he and his wife did while on those walks.

"Lead the way!" Dimitri murmured as Ivan pushed the backyard door open and they walked along the lake that was a few miles away from their houses. They had spent their childhood and teenage years on that lake. It was a dear place for Dimitri; he had made Roza his for the first time here and later on he had proposed to her in that same spot too. "So how's Paradise?" Dimitri was curious to know how his friend been doing since they has last seen each other the fateful night that a bullet took Ivan away from everyone who loved him.

"It's actually very different from what they tell us!" Ivan answered calmly. "You are reunited with all the loved ones you lost and even get to meet new people." Cookie barked happily from between them as if agreeing with her other owner. "Your grandmother said to tell you that you better take care of Rose or else she will come down there and kick your ass. Our fathers spend all their time fishing now even though they can't catch a single fish and Uncle Stan is the same old bat that doesn't like anyone even God himself." Dimitri laughed at the antics of their family. "But the best of all is Uncle Victor; he's been trying for the last decade to convince John Lennon that he is a better singer. He's been driving the poor man insane." Dimitri laughed remembering Uncle Victor; he was a good guy and just a little bit crazy but they all loved him. . He used to insist that John Lennon had robbed him of the chance to be a star. How? Dimitri never learned.

"But how are you?" Dimitri asked concerned. He had stayed up many nights wondering how Ivan was.

"I'm absolutely fine." His friend smiled. "I have Cookie to keep me company; I'm catching up on my to-read-list and waiting for all of you to join us." Back when they were young Ivan used to read all the time, he had made it his purpose to read as many books as he could, that was the reason Dimitri got hooked up in Western Novels. When Ivan died, reading was one of the few things that reminded him of his brother from another mother. Being children born in to an army family they had to lean on each other while their fathers were away. Dimitri never let it show that losing Ivan was a low blow for him, he had to keep going on for their families he was all they had after Ivan's death.

They settled down under their favorite tree beside the lake with Cookie lying between them. Two hearts carved into the old oak's bark caught Dimitri's attention. He smiled at the memory of the summer day he and Ivan had spent with their girls a few days before the leave for the war. Tasha had joked about them acting like they were in a chick flick movie and that the only thing missing was to carve their initials on the bark. They had laughed it off until Rose said she wanted to do it _'to have something to remember you when you are away' _were her exact words as she kissed him softly.

Ivan traced the two letters nestled inside one of the hearts pain painting his features. "How is she?" He asked in a small voice and Dimitri felt tears filling his eyes. Tasha was the one that took Ivan's death the hardest. She didn't talk to anyone for months and cried herself to sleep for days after her husband's death. Dimitri used to find her seated in her living room surrounded by photos of her and Ivan. If it wasn't for the little life she was carrying Dimitri was sure she would have fallen apart.

"The last time I saw her she was cursing your name for getting her knocked up." Dimitri laughed through his tears. The memory was very fresh to him even though it was three years ago. Both he and Roza were with Tasha in the delivery room when little Ivan Zeklos the second was born. Tasha had been screaming for Ivan all through her labor and it tore Dimitri's heart in to pieces. That day was mixed with tears of joy and sadness as the little rascal was brought to life. From that moment on little Ivan was the only thing that kept Tasha alive. Her son was the most precious thing to her; the little boy was the last piece of the love of her life.

"Tell her I love her when you see her again, will you?" Ivan pleaded wiping his tears away. "And tell my son that he was the best thing I ever made in my short life." Dimitri nodded wiping his own tears. He would make sure to pass the message on. Silence fell upon them as they watched the sun setting. Hours passed and when the night came Ivan rose and extended his hand to him. "Come on, it's time for you to go back to our family." He said and hugged Dimitri tight. It was the last time they would see each other for a long while.

"Why?" Dimitri asked bewildered. He thought he was dead.

"You time is not up yet." Ivan smiled. "I'll see you again in a few years." He turned to walk towards the opposite side of where they came while Dimitri walked back towards his family's home. "Oh and Belikov," Ivan shouted before Dimitri could take the turn that led to the old road that would lead him back to Roza. "I would go with pink!" He winked and Dimitri didn't have time ask him why he said that. Everything went blank and he could no longer see anything.

_**~If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away~**_

The next time Dimitri opened his eyes he was laying in a hospital room. He barely registered the weight that was resting upon his chest as he caught sight of her face. Roza was lying asleep in his arms, he could see the dried tears on her cheeks and it pained him that he caused her so much pain. He was hooked to IVs and machines but it was the last thing on his mind as his focus was on the woman in his arms.

"Roza?" He whispered hoarsely and shook her gently. A smile pulled at his lips as Rose mumbled something in her sleep and buried herself deeper in his chest. "Roza." He whispered again and shook her a little harder. Her eyes finally opened and her sleepy gaze met his. She stared for a moment dazed to see him awake before she leapt from the bed and out of the door to call the doctors. A small laughed escaped him as he watched her go.

A few minutes later the doctors were gone and they were alone again. They had run a few tests on him and declared that he was fine. He wouldn't be able to go back to the battlefield but he would live. Dimitri could see the relief in Rose's eyes when the doctors forbid him to go back and some small part of Dimitri was relived too. He didn't want to leave Rose's side again. Now they were both cuddled on the small hospital bed waiting for their family to arrive. According to Rose he was out for a month and a half, the doctors had almost lost hope that he would survive but she didn't give up on him.

Dimitri was a fighter; Rose told him that she never doubted that he would come back to her. Then they progressed to kissing each other senseless; they exchanged sweet and passionate kisses in an effort to convince themselves that this was real and that they were together again. His hand trailed down her side -memorizing her body all over again- and rested against the soft skin of her stomach. There was a small bump and Dimitri's surprised eyes met Rose's chocolate warm ones. A happy and peaceful smile was rising up her face.

"Four months." She whispered kissing his lips gently. He remembered the night before he had to return to his post four months ago. He had made love to his wife until dawn and promised to her that he would come back safe. Apparently they had also created a little life that night. He wrapped his arms as tight as he could and kissed the living daylights out of her for giving him such a gift. Finally the need for air made them pull away and he rested his forehead against hers. "I don't know if it's a boy or girl but the doctor says the baby is healthy." She smiled caressing her small bump.

"It's a girl." He said remembering Ivan's words. "Trust me it's a little girl." He grinned as he covered her small hand with his. Just then the door burst open and the room was filled with family and friends kissing him and asking if he was alright. Through the chaos Dimitri could see Ivan standing by the door, arms crossed over his chest and smirking at the scene before him. He winked and the next moment he was gone.

_Until we meet again. _Dimitri thought and wrapped Rose in his arms again.

_**~The End~**_

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**A/N: So what do you think? Reviews make me happy! **


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